/**
* A <i>thread</i> is a thread of execution in a program. The Java
* Virtual Machine allows an application to have multiple threads of
* execution running concurrently.
* <p>
* Every thread has a priority. Threads with higher priority are
* executed in preference to threads with lower priority. Each thread
* may or may not also be marked as a daemon. When code running in
* some thread creates a new <code>Thread</code> object, the new
* thread has its priority initially set equal to the priority of the
* creating thread, and is a daemon thread if and only if the
* creating thread is a daemon.
* <p>
* When a Java Virtual Machine starts up, there is usually a single
* non-daemon thread (which typically calls the method named
* <code>main</code> of some designated class). The Java Virtual
* Machine continues to execute threads until either of the following
* occurs:
* <ul>
* <li>The <code>exit</code> method of class <code>Runtime</code> has been
* called and the security manager has permitted the exit operation
* to take place.
* <li>All threads that are not daemon threads have died, either by
* returning from the call to the <code>run</code> method or by